Rebirth: the Origin of Zeroth
by Beastman
Summary: The Origin of the hero Zeroth, on the Infinity server. A tale of two lives, a mutant reborn, and a hero defined.


Thanks to: the CoH devs for making this game, Cryptic for publishing it, and my supergroup. The PMC  
  
Rebirth: The Origin of Zeroth

_I had a dream last night. It is one I am certain will one day become reality._  
  
_It is a premonition more certain the stars._  
  
I always said, "The stars hold mysteries man will never hold." The power, the magic they hold has and always will mystify man and mutant alike. I devoted my life to them, to understand the mystery, to harness the magic. It was a life well spent; I had no regrets save one. I never did the one thing I should have done.  
  
I remember the day I discovered I was a mutant. It was Halloween Night, 1936. I was out with a girl, Priscilla Collins. We were leaving a mutual friend's party when a group of Darklings, precursors to the Hellions, showed up. They threatened us, told us if we didn't hand over her purse, they'd "mess up her pretty little face." I was enraged that they'd threatened her, but I could do nothing. I tried to stand up for her, but one swift blow to the solar plexus and I was laid low. I was a student of physics, not a fighter. They approached Priscilla drawing their knives with murderous intent.  
  
In my desperation, I tapped into something deep within me, a power that had lain dormant for 18 years. With a cry of anger, I flung my assailants into the air, crushing their bodies with a power more primal than any mankind had ever known. They were dead before they ever hit the ground. My eyes burned with violet fire as I surveyed what I had done. I had no choice, I rationalized, they would have killed us had I not done it.  
  
Then, I looked at Priscilla. Her mouth was agape with horror at what I had done. I remember her words as crystal clear as the day she spoke them. "You... you're a monster! Stay... stay away from me!"  
  
She ran away screaming. That day, the day I discovered the primal force within me, was also the day I vowed never to use it.  
  
And so my life passed by, and with it, thoughts of what might have been. But my memory of that night, the twisted and contorted bodies and the look of horror on Priscilla's face always held me back. Instead, I devoted my life to science, to understanding the forces that boiled within me. To some, I was a genius, compared the likes of Albert Einstein and later, Steven Hawking. To others, I was a raving lunatic with poetic delusions. It didn't matter to me. All that mattered was that I could control the forces within, and ensure that I'd never have to use them. And I never did, until that day.  
  
_I am going to die. _  
  
_Very soon._  
  
Five months ago, I had been diagnosed with liver cancer. Rather than spend the remaining months of my life wasting away, I worked even harder. I realized that for all my work, I still felt as if I had accomplished nothing. I worked feverishly, to do something to validate my life. It was then I realized that I had wasted my true potential. Irrational fear had prevented me from doing any real good with my life. Instead of trying to understand my power, I should have learned to use it.  
  
Then, she re-entered my life. Priscilla, whom I'd not seen in sixty-six years. She entered my lab, looking not a day older than forty. She said she had a way, to make my life mean something. In this, the twilight of my life, I figured I had nothing left to lose. I followed her blindly, into a trap. The Rikti laid in wait for me, and I foolishly fell into their hands. Rikti science had given Priscilla her youth, in exchange; she would deliver me unto their grasp. For what? What would the Rikti want with a feeble old man?  
  
_I'm not afraid.As long as he understands, my mission will be complete._  
  
_At this point, I don't think of my life as precious._  
  
The secret deep inside, the power to control the primal force which shapes the stars themselves. They carried me into one of their ships, and took me off this world to conduct their experiments. Their machines kept me alive while endured every manner of examination their twisted minds could comprehend. Yet their every experiment failed, they lacked something, an x factor that would allow them to control my power. The Rikti leaders grew agitated, and Priscilla even more so. Finally, one night I felt a warm light envelope me. Death, I hoped, had come at last.  
  
Rather, for a second time, an extraterrestrial forced would take interest in me. These beings called themselves The Aegis. They explained themselves as ancient enemies of the Rikti. They told me I had been chosen, but this mortal frame was not long for this world. I would have to be reborn. The wrapped me in a field of light, and sent me deep within the cosmos. My exodus ended at the ultimate expression of destruction and creation, a black hole. I was sent spiraling past the event horizon. My body was bathed in radiation, then violently torn asunder. The consciousness it once held, though, expanded to proportions unimaginable, For a brief moment, I was one with the universe. I saw my home, Earth, as it began, as it grew, as it matured. But the final sight disturbed me, as I saw it end. Blackened seas and crimson skied, lightning blighting the landscape. Humanity was reduced to a scattered afterthought on a dead world.  
  
Somehow, I willed my body back to together. The Aegis brought me to their ship, then deposited me back on Earth. I could feel my power boiling to the surface. I would not waste this life; I would use these powers to prevent the future I had foreseen.  
  
My resolve was tested, however, when I came across a young woman. Her eyes widened in fear. I looked in a mirror, and saw that while I was once again young and strong, my skin was black as night, my hair a white as starlight, and my eyes burned with violet fire. Penance, no doubt, for a lifetime already wasted. Then, I saw Priscilla, the woman who'd been a catalyst to everything in my life. She was glowing with the same energy as the Aegis, emitting a sense of purity I'd not known since that horrible night all those years ago. She mouthed something to me, words I could barely hear, but would stay with me for the rest of my newfound life. Her body dissipated, and became one with the stars.  
  
_At last, you understand._  
  
I silently carry this legacy with me, of a wasted lifetime, and knowledge of a bleak future. As long as I draw breath, I will fight the fate The Aegis shown me, and make this life worth something. I realize their will be hardships to endure and sacrifices to be made. I understand the battles will be hard, but I will fight on. She helped me understand.  
  
_Even when this body lies sleeping at the bottom of the ocean of eternity...  
  
I will continue to love and yearn for you._


End file.
